A four-man gang, led by a ‘pregnant woman,’ kidnapped a businessman, Timothy Uche, last week.
Uche was kidnapped in the Lagos State neighborhood of Ejigbo. At around 9.30 p.m., he was driving into the complex where his electrical store is located to pick up his children who were waiting for him.
Gunshots rained down on his car from the armed men. While one of them was driving their operational vehicle, three others were releasing bullets designed for the businessman. They took him out of his automobile and into their operative vehicle.
Concern grows as the businessman’s family is left in the dark after his phone is turned off, leaving them in the dark.
The kidnappers, however, called Uche’s family two days later.
The kidnappers demanded N70 million in ransom, which they insisted had to be paid in US dollars before Uche could be freed.
According to Vanguard, he was released on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, after an unnamed ransom was paid.
In an interview, Uche thanked God for keeping him alive but pondered why he was the target.
He revealed that the pregnant woman in the gang turned out to be a male after all, as he recounted his three-night experience at the hands of his kidnappers.
He said, “I thank God for not allowing any of the bullets to hit me. They even fired a bullet at my car seat. It burned the upholstery of the seat but didn’t touch me.”
“When they took me into their car, they drove through Egbe, Idimu, and Liasu roads, to an apartment in the Ayobo area of Lagos State, where I was kept for three days. While I was struggling with them in their vehicle, they attempted to stab me with a knife and shoot me with a gun. But none penetrated. There were bruises on me. One of them even cut through my signet but the knife could not penetrate. That was the power of God at work.”
“For the three days, I spent in their custody, I was fed and medically treated. There have been three kidnap attempts on me and this is the only time they succeeded.”
While I was in the kidnappers’ den, one of them said they had been monitoring me since last Monday.
“They demanded N70 million ransom. When they discovered that my wife could not raise the amount, they reduced it to N15 million. After much bargaining and plea, they reduced it again to N5 million, when it became obvious that money was not forthcoming. But they insisted it must be paid in dollars.”
“They kept me in an apartment and communicated in English and Igbo dialects. I later discovered that one of them who dressed like a pregnant woman was actually a man” he said.
